Red Cross seeks £1bn of donations

The International Committee of the Red Cross is asking donors for just over £1 billion next year to help people caught up in armed conflicts, its biggest request ever and 25% larger than the current budget.

ICRC president Peter Maurer said the budget reflects the needs of people suffering from the changing nature of armed conflicts and other violence.

Speaking at the organisation’s headquarters in Geneva, he said “new kinds of crises, in new combinations, often with a regional dimension” are expanding costs and needs in many places.

He said Syria remains the largest Red Cross operation, followed by South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Congo, Israel and the occupied territories, Mali, Central African Republic and Ukraine.